Embracing Heritage In this eight-week unit, students continue to read stories and informational texts and discuss what they each reveal about our own country, the United States of America. “Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt
America is a nation of immigrants. This diversity has helped to make our country rich in ideas, traditions, and customs. Except for the Native Americans, every American came here from somewhere else—or is born of ancestors who did. People have come, and continue to come, to America to seek freedom and opportunity. Some did not come here voluntarily. And some immigrants encountered prejudice. To learn more about the role of immigration in American heritage, students read and discuss a variety of fictional and informational texts. To appreciate how we are shaped by the experiences we have and the people we encounter, students do a Generations Project, in which they consider perspectives from different generations within a family. The project also helps hone students’ interview and research skills. In addition, students create semantic maps of the phrase “embracing heritage” in order to represent visually their understanding of this phrase. They write an informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: How does heritage define us individually and as a nation?
Note: This unit provides an example of how cross-curricular collaboration can naturally occur between English and other content areas. Students can read informational texts in history class, and compare those accounts to personal narratives and accounts about the immigrants' experience read in English class. Much discussion centers on the ways in which background information enhances understanding of literature (whether on immigration or any other history/science topic of teachers' choosing). This unit also demonstrates how the reading and writing standards provide instructional connectivity between learning in English and other content areas.
Essential Question:
How does heritage define us individually and as a nation?
In this eight-week unit, students continue to read stories and informational texts and discuss what they each reveal about our own country, the United States of America.
“Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
America is a nation of immigrants. This diversity has helped to make our country rich in ideas, traditions, and customs. Except for the Native Americans, every American came here from somewhere else—or is born of ancestors who did. People have come, and continue to come, to America to seek freedom and opportunity. Some did not come here voluntarily. And some immigrants encountered prejudice. To learn more about the role of immigration in American heritage, students read and discuss a variety of fictional and informational texts. To appreciate how we are shaped by the experiences we have and the people we encounter, students do a Generations Project, in which they consider perspectives from different generations within a family. The project also helps hone students’ interview and research skills. In addition, students create semantic maps of the phrase “embracing heritage” in order to represent visually their understanding of this phrase. They write an informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: How does heritage define us individually and as a nation?
Note: This unit provides an example of how cross-curricular collaboration can naturally occur between English and other content areas. Students can read informational texts in history class, and compare those accounts to personal narratives and accounts about the immigrants' experience read in English class. Much discussion centers on the ways in which background information enhances understanding of literature (whether on immigration or any other history/science topic of teachers' choosing). This unit also demonstrates how the reading and writing standards provide instructional connectivity between learning in English and other content areas.
Essential Question:
How does heritage define us individually and as a nation?
Language
Arts
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Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
6 Matrix
6 PAP Matrix
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Home K-2
Home 3-6
Home 6-8
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6